Changing face of advertsing -Advertising is dated back to the Christian Era.

One of the first known methods of advertising was outdoor signs, they would be painted on the wall of a building and were usually very eye catching. Advertising as we know it today began during the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Advertising agencies were relatively unknown then.Eg : two people with drums walking down the streets of Mohenjodaro People would stop and listen,just as we do when we stop to read an advertisement onthe road, or watch on television. The ancient Romans painted notices of theatre performances, games, entertainments and public events on the walls of the busy centres of the town. Egyptians made sales messages and wall posters on papyrus-paper made from the papyrus plant by cutting it in strip.in the 18 century, Great Britain boasted the most advanced advertising. Handbills and trade cards proclaiming in extravagant terms the excellence of sundry products and services were common. Handbills, posters, pamphlets and leaflets were printed in large numbers and distributed throughout the city, and also put up on walls in public places.Advertising soon became a powerful tool to market the products produced in the factories - from safety pins to sewing machines. Newspapers began selling space to advertisements. Soon there was more advertisement than news! The first modern advertising agency started operating around 1875 in the United Sates of America, when Mr N. W. Ayer and Sons of Philadelphia offered to produce advertisements and also to contract for space in newspapers. The field of advertising was revolutionized with the advent of radio and television as popular media of communication in this century. While the press would cover only the literate population, the radio and television have widely covered both literates and non-literates. Television and radio remain the most popular media in urban as well as rural areas. During the 1990s, the arrival of satellite television and internet has resulted in significant changes in the field. first issue of the first newspaper of the Indian subcontinent, was the Bengal Gazette. During the early years the newspapers. announced births, deaths, appointments, arrival and departure of ships and sale of furniture. By the beginning of the 19th century the pattern of advertising revealed a definite change. Even the daily newspapers announced themselves through advertisements in existing periodicals. The power of advertising increased rapidly with the growth in trade and commerce. By 1830, around three dozen newspapers and periodicals were being published on a regular basis from India. With the rise of new industries, advertising, even from British companies, increased. The growth of advertising in India is also linked to the Swadeshi movement (1920-1922), which gave impetus to Indian industries. The first Indian ad agency,the Indian Advertising Agency, was launched in the very early years of the 20thcentury. . In 1931, the first full-fledged Indian ad agency, the National Advertising Service,was established. During the post independence era, the advertising business was well on its way to growth and expansion. Market research and readership surveys led to further professionalisation of the advertising industry. Television Rating Points, popularly known as TRP measurements, provided ad agencies with statistical data on consumer/ viewer likes and dislikes and helped them create effective media plans and ad campaigns. The introduction of multi-colour printing, improved printing machines and them development of commercial art gave the ad business a further boost. The advertising agencies expanded their services and this was due to the phenomenal growth in media. Besides selling space in newspapers and magazines, they began to offer art works, organization of fairs and exhibitions and market research.